So, your extroverted. You love to be around your team and to talk out all our ideas and plans.

You get energized by having some alone time and you despise small talk.

And, your team? We’ll they despise small talk and need thinking time (alone!) to come up with their best ideas.

It can feel like a challenge when you want to hear their ideas on the spot.

This week we have Coach Judy Laws with us to share some thoughts on how to most successfully manage your introverted team, while staying true to you.

Take it away Judy!

“A great manager appreciates the difference between extroversion and introversion and finds ways to adapt and leverage these differences. To do this, they first need to understand the extroversion and introversion preferences.

Extroversion and introversion is about the direction in which we focus our attention and energy. Extroverts focus their energy and attention outwards; they are attracted to the outer world of people and events. Extroverts are more likely to: Speak-think-speak, speak out easily and often at meetings, favor an energetic atmosphere, find too little interaction stressful, and desire an action-oriented leader.

Introverts, on the other hand, focus their energy and attention inward; they are attracted to the inner world of thoughts and reflections. Introverts are more likely to: think-speak-think, be quiet in meetings and seem uninvolved, favor a calm atmosphere, find too much interaction stressful, and desire a contemplative leader.

As an extroverted manager, here are some things you can do if you have an introverted team.

Manage your Extroversion

In conversation or in a team meeting, pay attention to how much you are talking. Ask yourself, A.I.T. – Why am I talking? If the answer is I am doing most of the talking, stop and let the other person speak.

Extroverts (including Introverts conditioned in an extroverted world) need to develop sensitivity to the impact of their behaviour on introverts, particularly with respect to leaving “silences” to encourage introverts to take their share of the air in discussions.

Allow introverts the space that they need to produce their best work, which will be on their own or with a couple of their team members, in a quiet space.

When Working as a Team

Send out team meeting information ahead of time to allow introverts time to think about the topic, agenda items, etc.

Use Meeting Guidelines / Ground Rules, established by the team, to manage team dynamics.

Create opportunities for small group interaction.

Ensure that airtime is shared amongst the team. For example, “I noticed that we have heard from many of the same people and want to open the discussion to others who haven’t had a chance to share their thoughts.”

Devise methods for including everyone in a discussion, e.g. silent brainstorming, round robin allowing individuals to pass, surveying the team before the meeting, sharing the group’s input and then discussing it, etc.

Before proceeding with a decision or action, allow time for team members to think about it before proceeding.

Coach your introverted team members to let their peers (and you!) know when they are thinking and/or need time to think.

Finally, it is important to treat each team member as an individual, recognizing that individuals show up differently on the extroversion-introversion scale. Observe and learn more about each team member so that you can leverage their strengths and adapt your management style accordingly.”

Thank you, Judy!

Let us know how these tips work for you! And, if you’re an introverted Manager be sure to stop by next week for some tips for you!

Now you’ve got the challenge of finding the just-right person to fill the role.

Historically, interview questions center around how the candidate has the best skills for the job or what they think sets them apart from all the other candidates.

But how can you be sure they have these skills?

Try interviewing FIRST for character, personality, and culture fit for your organization!

Ready to try it? Here are some behavior-based questions to get your juices flowing:

Tell me about a time you set a goal for yourself. How did you go about ensuring that you would meet your objective?

If you could choose to have any superpower – what would it be?

We are sometimes confronted with the dilemma of having to choose between what is right and what is best for the company. Can you please give me an example of a situation in which you faced this dilemma and how you handled it?

Walk me through a time you were able to be creative with your work.

Tell me about a situation in which you have had to adjust to changes over which you had no control. How did you handle it?

What does your best day ever look like?

Give me an example of a time you discovered an error that been overlooked by a colleague. What did you do? What was the outcome?

We’ve all done things that we regretted. Can you give me an example that falls into this category for you? How would you handle it differently today?

Over the past week and a half, we have seen a unique collision of the childhood of Millennials with the digital age of 2016.

Pokémon Go, the app based off of the Nintendo videogame, has had over 7.5 million downloads in the U.S. alone since it’s release at the beginning of July!

This app has taken the video game that was popular when Millennials were in elementary school, combined it with augmented reality, and created the “next big thing”.

What is amazing about this game is that it encourages you to go out, explore your surroundings, “catch ‘em all”, and even pay attention to your fellow Pokémon players!

As cheesy as it may seem, there is no denying how creating a cause or game unites families, friends, teams, and even strangers.

So, as your team may be taking their lunch break to walk around the city and try to find Charizard or Mewtwo (yes… those really are some Pokémon names) think about what you can create or do to unite your team.

Need some ideas?

Create a “pep- week” with days when you dress like a co-worker or have the most crazy socks

Maybe the winner gets a gift card to Starbucks

Create a sweepstakes to win 2 tickets to a local baseball game

And, you get to enter when you complete a project or do something to support a team member

We’re on week two with your chatty team! Did you have a chance to reflect on some of the questions Trish asked last week?

We hope those gave you a place to start. This week we’ve got Coach Sue Oliver based out of Texas on how to leverage the camaraderie of your team to get things done.

Take it away, Sue!

“The ‘battle for focus’ is one we all wage daily.

We want to motivate and inspire our teams to operate at their best; yet, there are so many opportunities for distractions.

We all know a team in conflict can easily lose focus. A team that gets along well socially and has positive chemistry can also be impacted.

How? The camaraderie and enjoyment of being part of a team that gets along well together can pose a challenge in getting things done.

So, how do you harness the best of what a good team with positive chemistry can achieve without falling victim to unproductive distractions?

One tip is to draw on the positive chemistry of the team to involve them as solution owners.

What does this actually look like?

Begin by gathering the team together and laying out the situation transparently

Let them know you see the team’s camaraderie as a strength, except when it poses challenges to getting things done

Share with the team what the lack of focus looks like

Let the team know that you want them to have a stake in the solution

Challenge the team to identify the top 1-3 ways they can more clearly focus on achieving their performance goals while preserving the positive spirit and camaraderie of the team

At the end of the meeting or deadline set for team ideas, decide on the top few things the team can do to heighten their focus while preserving the positive atmosphere among the team.

This inclusive process will enable your team to be problem solvers and owners in the solution. You will have solved a problem through motivation and engagement – yielding a much more sustainable solution.”

Thank you, Sue!

By considering the questions from Trish last week and some of Sue’s suggestions this week, we know you’ll start to see some different results soon!

And now, you get new notifications of your team members tagging each other in photos every Friday and Saturday night.

You knew that they were chatty at work but you didn’t realize that all their socializing was encouraged by them hanging out together outside of work too.

Sometimes, the chemistry of your team can seem to take away from their productivity. You don’t want to kill the camaraderie but your team has got to get the work done. Over the coming weeks we’ll hear from two Coaches on some strategies on how to work with your sociable team.

This week we have Coach Trish Brooks from Ottawa, Canada with some suggestions and questions to motivate your team so that socializing doesn’t get in the way of results.

Let’s check out what Trish has to say!

“This is a multi-faceted problem, and there may be several interventions that the manager must make. Today let’s look at one important one – is the team fully engaged with their job. Research has shown that the social part of the job is not a significant reason people come to a company, or stay with a company – it’s not a ‘motivator’. Employees typically leave companies (even though they have great social connections) because the work is not stimulating and they are not developing. If employees are not ‘getting things done’ it means they are likely not motivated to do the work.

So, the first question to ask is ‘are my employees motivated in their jobs?’

Is the job aligned with what is important to them?

Is their work interesting and are they learning and growing in their job?

Are they being recognized, and feel valued? Are they feeling a sense of accomplishment day-to-day?

If the answer is ‘yes’ to all of the above, then it is unlikely that socializing is getting in the way of the work. If employees are bored with the work and are not growing, then socializing will be what they do instead of work.

The best way for a leader to determine whether or not their employees are motivated is to have a discussion that asks questions like:

What are a couple of recent accomplishments you feel especially good about?

What part of your work interests or challenges you the most and least?

What’s important to you and what do you value at work? Is there a good match between what is important to you and what this organization provides?

Do you feel valued and recognized for what you accomplish here?

The manager can then determine what the next step is. For example, the manager could:

Modify the job objectives so there is more challenge/accomplishment/growth for the employee or help the employee move to a job that is better aligned to their interests

Ensure that people are not hired that are overqualified for the job (because they will likely get bored within the first year)

Recognize the accomplishments of employees

Hold employees accountable, and provide feedback, so they know what is expected (and know what accomplishment looks like)

Move people before they get bored in a job. Typically people need a new challenge every three years.

If employees are energized about their jobs, they will still socialize, but it will be aligned with the goals of the group. People get energized, and have fun, when they have common goals that they accomplish together.”

Thanks, Trish! Let’s try these tactics out this week and see what we uncover. And, make sure to come back next week for some more tips!